Learn to Read Medical Chinese

Learn to Read Chinese with Nicolaas Herman Oving

An online course to guide you in the study of medical Chinese.

Chinese Medical Concepts in Context

Philosophical and etymological background of Chinese Medical Characters, and how they function in classical texts as applied in the clinical context.

Course objective and description

The course will help you to develop a deeper understanding of concepts in Chinese Medicine through the study of characters and their use in classical texts. It guides you in your studies of the basic vocabulary of Chinese Medicine. The characters are traced to their origins, and placed in the context of the medical classics. You will get access to the original descriptions of the concepts in medical classics like the Neijing and Nanjing by close reading of citations from those texts. Through increasing understanding of Chinese medical concepts, the practitioner leaves with a far greater depth of understanding of the medicine as it applies to self-taught knowledge, peer to peer exchanges, approaches to continuing education, and thus day-to-day practice, diagnosis, treatment and overall patient care. The components of this “hands-on” workshop include:

Practical benefits to the practitioner: relationship to scope of practice and continuing education (demonstrated through examples). This is the equivalent of an intensive (mini) master’s level course in OM concepts and principles. Again, as stated above, best OM Medical Practices are achieved, in part, through competency in the language. This allows for more finely nuanced herbal prescribing and acupuncture interventions and thus has a direct impact on clinical practice, patient care and systems based care, as well as access to the vast clinical resources available only in Chinese.

Learning Methodology

Study assignments are sent by email. Group discussion is encouraged. Self-study is crucial, but Nicolaas will always give feedback to individual questions, and he will help you to evaluate progress regularly.

Participation requirements

Some basic knowledge of Chinese Medicine is helpful, but the course is open for beginning as well as advanced students and practitioners of Chinese Medicine. The contents of the course can be adjusted according to the needs and wishes of the students.

Course leader

Nicolaas Herman Oving is a sinologist and practitioner of Chinese Medicine. He has taught Chinese medical language to students and practitioners for twelve years and works as a translator of Chinese medical texts. Since 2008, Nicolaas has been living on a small farm in New Mexico where he is passionately studying and practicing the art of producing real food.

Contents of Block A: Basic Concepts

You will study characters from Chinese Medical Chinese (see below). Nicolaas has developed additional material exploring the historical and philosophical roots of concepts using quotes from the classical literature.

The character qì in acupoint names. Cross-cultural transmission of medical concepts. Usage of qì in common language.

Part 9

Shén: discussion of the concept, and its use in medical literature.

Part 10

Background reading and discussion of the issues surrounding terminology and translation of Chinese medical terms into English.

EXAM

* Note:

In the material about qì (part 2 - part 8) several other important concepts are discussed.

Assignments

Nicolaas will send you documents to study. He will tell you which characters to study in the book Chinese Medical Characters. You will learn to read and write a couple of characters each week. Nicolaas will show you how to use the internet to learn how to pronounce them.

At the end of each assignment there will be a quiz and a test to check your knowledge of the characters studied thus far; and at the end of Block A there will be a final exam which will include a short essay. Writing the quizzes and tests, and passing the exam is a prerequisite for continuing to Block B and C.

Study-load and CEU's/ CPD

To get the maximum out of this course, you will need to study an hour a day. The course (Block A) qualifies for 100 NCCAOM PDA Points and 100 Californian CEU’s. These points are divided over ten certificates of each ten points. The duration of the course is five months.

Schedule

Autumn 2011 Session: Block A will begin in October 2011; a specific date will be set when class registrations are complete.

Cost

Block A: $750.00 US dollars; paid with course registration for each block (A, B and C) Your fee is fully refundable if the class is cancelled. The entire course, Blocks A, B and C can be purchased for $2000

Enrollment

Contents of Block B and C: Continuing Study

By continuing with Block B and C you will increase your speed of learning Chinese medical characters, continue to deepen your understanding by studying quotes from the medical classics, and will begin to study grammar. Subjects addressed in these blocks: organ theory; channel theory; names and actions of medicinals; and more. We will continue our discussion of single characters such as those appearing in acupoint names as well as a series of characters used in terms for therapeutic principles. Names of medicinals and formulas will also be discussed. In Block C, grammar of classical Chinese will be studied by looking at quotes from medical texts and by translation of excerpts from such texts.

Schedule

Block B (current session) will run from October 2011 to March/April 2012, and Block C from April 2012 to September 2012. To enter Block B and C, you need to pass the exam of the previous block. The final examination will test your proficiency at translating a simple text.